The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Ministry of Commerce") received the application for anti-dumping investigation formally submitted by Zhejiang Cenway New Materials Co., Ltd. and Panjin Heyun New Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Applicant") on behalf of the domestic halogenated butyl rubber industry on August 14, 2017. The Applicant requested the anti-dumping investigation against imports of halogenated butyl rubber originating the United States, European Union and Singapore. According to relevant provisions of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping, the Ministry of Commerce has examined the qualifications of the Applicant, relevant situations of the product with the investigation applied for, relevant situations of Chinese similar products, influences of the product with the investigation applied for on the domestic industry, relevant situations of the country (region) with the investigation applied for and so on.

According to the evidences provided by the Applicant and the preliminary examination of the Ministry of Commerce, the halogenated butyl rubber output of the Applicant in 2014, 2015 and 2016 all accounted for more than 50% of the total output of the Chinese similar products in the same periods, which conforms to the provisions on the application for the anti-dumping investigation for the domestic industry in Article 11 and Article 13 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping.

It is claimed in the application that the halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, European Union and Singapore is exported to China at a price lower than the normal value. As per the evidences and information reasonably obtained, the Applicant takes the prices of the products of the United States, European Union and Singapore with the investigation applied for in the markets of the countries (regions) as the basis for determining the normal value of the halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, European Union and Singapore and the prices of exports of the products with the investigation applied for to China determined by the Customs of the People's Republic of China as per the relevant statistical data as the basis for determining the export prices of the products with the investigation applied for, and after adjustments to all factors influencing price comparability, claims the great dumping of the products with the investigation applied for. Meanwhile, it is claimed in the application that affected by the imports to China of the products of the United States, European Union and Singapore with the investigation applied for, the indicators such as sale prices of the domestic industry, profit rate, return rate on investment and per-capita wage show a trend of deterioration, and the domestic industry has suffered substantial damages, and there is a casual relationship between the dumping of the products with the investigation applied for and the substantial damages of the domestic industry. Upon examination, the Ministry of Commerce believes that the application includes contents and relevant evidences required for the filing of the anti-dumping investigation in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping.

As per the above-mentioned examination results, the Ministry of Commerce decides, according to Article 16 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping, to file the anti-dumping investigation against imports of the halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, European Union and Singapore as of August 30, 2017. Now the relevant matters are hereby announced as below:

I. Filing of Investigation and Investigation Period

As of the issue date of the Announcement, the Ministry of Commerce files the anti-dumping investigation against imports of the halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, European Union and Singapore. The anti-dumping investigation period determined upon the examination is from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, and the investigation period for industrial damages is from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2017.

II. Product under Investigation and Scope of Investigation

Scope of investigation: imports of the halogenated butyl rubber originating in the United States, European Union and Singapore.

Chinese name of the product under investigation: 卤化丁基橡胶 (known as 卤代丁基橡胶 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China)

English name: Halogenated Butyl Rubber (Chlorobutyl Rubber, Bromobutyl Rubber)

Host molecule structure:

X is Br or Cl

Physicochemical characteristics: halogenated butyl rubber is a product of butyl rubber reacting with halogenating agents and is an improved product of ordinary butyl rubber. Halogenation reactions include chlorination and bromination, so halogenated butyl rubber can be classified into chlorobutyl rubber and bromobutyl rubber. The product form of halogenated butyl rubber is white to light amber rubber brick. Halogenated butyl rubber features fast vulcanization, good compatibility with other unsaturated rubber and high autohesion and mutual viscosity.

Main purposes: halogenated butyl rubber is mainly used for tubeless inner liner, heat-resistant inner tube, heat-resistant hose and conveyer belt, pharmaceutical bottle stopper, anti-vibration pad, adhesive and sealing material.

The product is listed under tariff numbers of 40023910 and 40023990 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China.

III. Registration for Participating in the Investigation

Any interested party may register with the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce for participating in this anti-dumping investigation within 20 days as of the issue date of the Announcement. The interested parties participating in the investigation are required to provide their basic identity information based on the Reference Format of the Registration to Participate in the Investigation and the explanatory materials including the quantity and amount of the product investigated in the case of export to China or the import case, the quantities and amounts of the products produced and sold similar to the investigated product and other relevant situations. The Reference Format of the Registration to Participate in the Investigation can be downloaded from the relevant website (URL attached, the same below).

The interested parties in the Announcement refer to the individuals and organizations defined in Article 19 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping.

IV. Access to Public Information

The interested parties may download from relevant websites or look up, read, transcribe and copy the non-confidential text of the application submitted by the Applicant at the Trade Remedy Public Information Room of the Ministry of Commerce (Tel.: 0086-10-65197878). In the course of investigation, the interested parties may look up public information on the case at relevant websites, or look up, read, transcribe and copy public information on the case at the Trade Remedy Public Information Room of the Ministry of Commerce.

V. Comments

If any interested party has any comments on the product scope under investigation, the qualification of the Applicant, the investigated countries (regions) and other related questions, it may submit its comments in written form to the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce within 20 days as of the issue date of the Announcement.

VI. Investigation Methods

According to Article 20 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping, the Ministry of Commerce may learn about conditions from the interested parties and make the investigation by means of questionnaires, sampling, hearings, on-site inspections, etc..

In order to obtain the information required for the investigation of the case, the Ministry of Commerce usually issues questionnaires within 10 working days from the deadline for registering for participating in the investigation as prescribed herein to foreign exporters or manufacturers related to the case and domestic manufacturers or importers related to the case. The interested parties that have registered for participating in the investigation can download the questionnaire from the relevant websites.

The inquiry information in the Questionnaire for Foreign Exporters or Manufacturers Involved in the Anti-dumping Case of Halogenated Butyl Rubber includes corporate structure and operation, the product under investigation, export sales to China (Chinese mainland), domestic sales, business, finance and other relevant information, production costs and relevant expenses, estimated dumping margin and check list. The inquiry information in the Questionnaire for Domestic Manufacturers Involved in the Anti-dumping Case of Halogenated Butyl Rubber includes corporate basic information, situations of domestic similar products, business and relevant information, finance and relevant information and other issues needing to be described. The inquiry information in the Questionnaire for Domestic Importers Involved in the Anti-dumping Case of Halogenated Butyl Rubber includes corporate basic information, trade of the product under investigation and relevant information.

Any other interested party not registered for participation in the investigation may directly download the above questionnaires from relevant websites, or ask for them from the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and fill in and submit them according to requirements.

All companies shall submit questionnaires with complete and accurate answers within a prescribed time. The answer sheets shall include all the information required by the questionnaires.

VII. Submission and Processing of Confidential Information

If it is necessary to keep confidential the information submitted by an interested party to the Ministry of Commerce, the said interested party may make a request to the Ministry of Commerce for confidential treatment of relevant information and give reasons. If the Ministry of Commerce agrees about the said request, the interested party applying for confidentiality shall provide the non-confidential summary of the said confidential information. The non-confidential summary shall include full and meaningful information, so that other interested parties can reasonably understand the confidential information. If the non-confidential summary cannot be provided, a specific reason shall be given. If the information submitted by an interested party does not state that it is necessary to keep it confidential, the Ministry of Commerce will deem the said information as public information.

VIII. Consequences of Non-cooperation

According to Article 21 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping, when the Ministry of Commerce makes investigations, the interested parties shall faithfully reflect the situations and provide the relevant materials. If an interested party fails to faithfully reflect the situations or provide the relevant information, or fails to provide necessary information within a reasonable time, or seriously impedes an investigation in any other way, the Ministry of Commerce may give a ruling according to already obtained and available best information.

IX. Investigation Period

The investigation will start from August 30, 2017, and generally end before August 30, 2018. In a special circumstance, the deadline may be extended to February 28, 2019.

X. Contact

Address: No.2 Dong Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, China

Postcode: 100731

Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce

Tel.: 0086-10-65197589, 65198062

Fax: 0086-10-65198172

Relevant websites: sub-website of the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce (http://trb.mofcom.gov.cn)

China Trade Remedy Information (http://www.cacs.mofcom.gov.cn)

Ministry of Commerce

August 30, 2017